Friday overnights: Three-way tie for first

In past years CBS dominated Friday nights among adults 18-49 and every other demo. This year it’s been ABC finishing atop the night among the Big Five, and so it’s notable when CBS suddenly surges, as it did this past Friday.

Riding the momentum of a strong “Undercover Boss,” which finished as the top show on broadcast Friday night, CBS tied ABC and Univision for No. 1 in primetime.

All three networks averaged a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating and 5 share, according to Nielsen overnights, well ahead of No. 4 Fox at 1.2/4. NBC was fifth with a 0.9/3, Telemundo was sixth with a 0.5/1, and the CW was seventh with a 0.4/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won't be available for several weeks. Forty-six percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

CBS led at 8 p.m. with the 1.8 for “Boss.” Univision was second with a 1.6 for "Por Ella Soy Eva,” and ABC finished third with a 1.5 for “Last Man Standing” (1.6) and “Malibu Country” (1.5), both up from the previous week. Fox’s college football was fourth with a 1.1, NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” repeat was fifth with a 0.9, and the CW’s “Nikita” and Telemundo’s “Rosa Diamante” tied for sixth with a 0.4 apiece.

ABC’s “Shark Tank” and Univision’s “Amores Verdaderos” tied for first at 9 p.m. with a 1.6 apiece, followed by CBS’s “CSI: NY” with a 1.5. Fox’s football game drew a 1.1 for fourth place, followed by NBC’s “Grimm” repeat fifth with a 0.6, Telemundo’s “Corazon Valiente” sixth with a 0.3, and the CW’s “Arrow” repeat seventh with a 0.3.

At 10 p.m. ABC’s “20/20” finished first with a 1.7, followed by CBS’s 1.5 for “Blue Bloods.” Univision’s “Amor Bravio” took third with a 1.4, followed by Fox’s football in fourth with a 1.1, NBC’s “Dateline NBC” in fifth with a 1.1, and Telemundo in sixth with a 0.5 for "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal" (0.6) and "El Rostro de la Venganza" (0.4).

CBS took first among households with a 6.4 rating and 11 share, followed by ABC in second with a 3.9/7, NBC and Fox tied for third at 2.6/4, Univision fifth with a 2.0/3, the CW sixth with a 0.8/1, and Telemundo seventh with a 0.6/1.